


And They Were Roommates

by Ace_Pirate, BananaCracker333 (bananacracker333)



Category: Subnautica (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, It's Gonna Be Angsty, Nonbinary Character, but its not described just a happenstance, it might get gay in which i will adjust the tags, its gonna be a long ass sickfic, plant son lives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-05-02 06:40:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14538873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ace_Pirate/pseuds/Ace_Pirate, https://archiveofourown.org/users/bananacracker333/pseuds/BananaCracker333
Summary: Bart Torgal has survived 10 years alone, the only human on the planet 4546B. He's lost everything, piece by piece, until his old friend, Ryley Robinson, crosses the known universe to find him.  Things aren't perfect, far from it.  But it's going to get better.





	1. Entry One - Survivor's Log

_**Survivor'** _ _**s Log** _

\- Ironic, isn’t it.  
\- _Just so fucking ironic._  
\- I should never have left Earth. I should never have held onto those old, abandoned hopes.  
\- I just wanted an answer. I just fucking wanted to know what happened to him. My friend. But I didn’t mean to find it out that way. I didn’t mean to have the same thing happen to me. I should never have left Earth.  
\- Well, regret won’t help me now. I’m alive, and this is what matters. This is Ryley Robinson, Non-Essential Systems Maintenance Chief of the Aurora crew, which is essentially French for “a programmer in charge of a bunch of engineering nerds”. Was. Was in charge. Just a tiny little technicality.  
\- The ship crashed.

 **Day 1** **  
**\- Got started by building a repair tool and fixing my lifepod. Also making a knife and a scanner. Gotta defend myself. And also find out more about what exists around me. The rubber was a pain to get. So was the cave sulphur.  When you start your day with a fish exploding on your face, you know you’re in for a bitch-ass of a planet. I’m still genuinely confused as to why the actual _hell_ these fish explode? It seems. Counterproductive.  
\- Turns out this planet grows in very diverse biomes, that just sorta bleed into each other. I am lucky to have landed in the safest area, according to the PDA. And by “safest” I mean “ _filled with loud and growling creatures trying to bite me or blow me to smithereens_ ”. There’s one with a funny face that just farts poisonous liquid into the water. I call them Fartmasters.  Thankfully they’re slow. They don’t scare me. I’m not screaming.  
\- With my new tools, I explored the kelp forest and grassy plateaus and found blueprints for the seaglide and mobile vehicle bay. Also a few tools like the grav trap and the beacon. And a pack of leviathans. Yeah. Leviathans. It’s okay, they’re the whale kind. Just sorta float up there, close to the surface, bathing in the sun and humming what sounds like a Cyclops horn. Gonna sound weird, but they are the friendliest things I found so far. They’re very friend-shaped. I want to keep them.

 **Day 3** **  
**\- Ran out of protein bars already. Oh no, do I gotta eat the _fish?_ The _alien_ fish? Ugh.  
\- It seems I’m gonna be here a while, but I refuse to make a base. I’ve been exploring some of the other lifepods, and everyone had left them already. Got rumors of a rendezvous somewhere, so I guess I’ll find my people soon enough.  
\- On the other hand, I’d have made at least a small compartment with a bed if only I had the blueprint. I’m getting real tired of sleeping on the lifepod’s floor, no matter how much fiber mesh I pile there.

 **Day 4** **  
**\- Some of the fish had glowing green pustules on them. Nope don’t like the looks of that. Scanner told me about alien diseases. I’M EATING THESE DIRTY FISH FROM THIS DIRTY PLANET, GROSS. Thank god the fabricator is sterilized because _eeww_ .  
\- Visited Lifepod 17 and found the Seamoth and Laser Cutter blueprints. Laser Cutter required diamonds. I thought “ah _fuck_ ”.  
\- Decided to hoard pieces of metal salvage in the cave next to my lifepod. Because. What if I need them.  
\- Frigging stalkers got nothing on my hoard. _I’m_ the best dragon, not them.

 **Day 7** **  
** \- For a few days I explored my whereabouts and got as many blueprints as I could. Got the Scanner Room, the Bioreactor, bar table, FINALLY GOT A BED, trash can, counter, bench, swivel chair and some bits and pieces of the Thermal Plant and Nuclear Reactor. Got a bit of a cyclops. Ooo boy. Don’t know what I’d do with one but it’s exciting.

 **Day 9** **  
**\- Self-scanned like I do every three days. Like a good survivalist. And basically _oh shit I’m sick with alien disease_ . Oh fuck. Fuck no. _Fuck_ this shit. Fuck _all_ of this shit. I _hate_ this planet.  
\- Except for you, Reefbacks, you guys are nice.  
\- Popped up a little base compartiment, for my bed and storage only. I’m not making a whole base cause farming for it would take ages and I’m not going to stay in this planet for that long. At least that compartiment gives me a few minutes of walking around without being wet.

 **Day 10** **  
**\- The Aurora exploded today. God, I hope no one was there. I’m sure that if anyone was, they’d hear the warnings about the quantum detonation and flee, but… I still get worried. It’s been two weeks already and I haven’t found a single person. The only thing that keeps me from panicking is that I haven’t found a single body either. But if everyone really is dead… I don’t like the implications of that, I really don’t.  
\- On the good side, got me a radiation suit. Liked how I looked in it. Alterra’s obnoxious orange is out, suave anti-radiation grey and blue is in.

 **Day 12** **  
** \- I found Jochi Khasar’s lifepod today. Still haven’t found a body, but I know he died because of the PDA log. Listening to it was brutal. I felt so bad, he was a good man, he was the only other mongolian in the ship, and he was there to find the Degasi crew. The ship we crossed the known universe to find, and still don’t have an answer to what happened with. All I have is another lost life.

 **Day 13** **  
**\- Farmed for titanium and built my Seamoth, which I professionally named Ark I after my Dungeons and Dragons ship. It felt… oddly satisfying to call something by a name again. I really don’t like where this is going. I think I’m getting a little too lonely.  
\- Am getting used to eat dead animals. Did not sign up for that. Maybe if I adopt one as a pet I’ll feel bad about eating them again. Hoverfish are more like reptiles but oh god they’re so fucking cute. His name is Neil Perry. Who’s a good boy.  
\- Also found a small alien egg. Holding on to that.

 **Day 15** **  
**\- Today has got to be one of the saddest days I’ve ever had in my life. And considering some days I’ve had in my life, both recently and not, this is a big deal.  
\- I guess I did what I came here to do. I found an answer to my question. Doesn’t make me feel any better, though. It’s like grieving a second time.  
\- I should contextualize this.  
\- After many signals talking about a rendezvous, finally found out what it meant when I went to Officer Keen’s lifepod. His PDA took me to an island floating in the surface, kept in place by titanic versions of those god awful floaters. No one was there. Once again I was late, and even Keen and Yu, the two people who managed to get there, were gone by the time I arrived. Seems the story of Aurora, the story of my people, ended there. Everyone else is dead. And the signals are just _ghosts_ .  
\- I’m depressed.

 **Day 16** **  
**\- After a very long depression nap on the beach, I explored around the island. I found edible plants there, and took as many seeds as I could. I might be able to plant them inside some base compartment, and finally eat something that isn’t fish.  
\- The other thing I found, well… I found them. I found the Degasi crew. Or at least what they left behind.  
\- The crash of the Degasi happened 10 years ago. One of the crew members was my dear friend Bart Torgal. When I heard the Aurora would be stopping by the same system where it disappeared, I applied immediately.  I knew i was overqualified, but i was hoping to get some answers as to what happened to my friend. Maybe find some peace in knowing how it all ended, even though I already accepted at this point that he was probably long dead.  
\- And then I get here and find out three people survived the crash and Bart was one of them. I made the mistake of allowing myself to feel happiness. Upon reading it, I made the mistake of hoping I would finding him again.  
\- However, exploring more of the island, I found another voicelog. The date was almost a year after the ones I found. It was Bart’s last record. He sounded weaker, tired, hurt. Said he was sick and dying. Probably got some kind of alien disease, like the one I have. It looks like he’s died of it, since there’s no more trace of him. The log mentions the others who survived with him were already gone.  
\- He’s gone. My friend is gone. It feels weird. I didn’t think you could lose a hope you already didn’t have. In a way, I’m grieving his death again.  
\- Bart’s father was one of the survivors. And a mercenary named Maida. These two were constantly bickering in the voicelogs I found. I hope she gave Paul hell. It’s what that jerk deserves.  
\- Writing this is… Exhausting, so I’m wrapping it up with the last important discovery of the day. Found some kind of alien device in that base. A purple tablet. The crew didn’t know what it was so it’s gotta be aliens. Well, it’s mine now.

 **Day 17** **  
** \- Got back to good ol Fivey just in time for a new radio signal. Avery Quinn from the Sunbeam ship told me to go to another place, where I’d be rescued from. A different island. He wouldn’t arrive in a few weeks but I thought prudent to investigate it. Took my Seamoth there and what the fuck what the fuck what the f

 **Day 17 (and a half?)** **  
**\- There’s aliens.  
\- I just found a giant alien structure.  
\- Explored around in it, downloaded some data, scanned everything I could. Found more of those purple tablets, which I used to open doors around the building. Also found some “ion cubes”, which are mindbogglingly huge energy sources. Seems these aliens have been gone from this planet for a long time. A… a thousand years, in the least. Shit, this place is old.  
\- It’s not the only one, also. a data download told me about three others. All of them are too deep in the ocean for me to consider visiting. I just wanted to leave this place as soon as possible, but I don’t think I can. Not after what I found out.  
\- This structure is a quarantine enforcement unit. I pushed a button, it stabbed me in the wrist and told me I’m infected. And because of that I couldn’t disable the “gun”. Listen. I’m terrified. This means whatever alien disease I contracted isn’t just some extraterrestrial flu.  
\- Sure, the symptoms are starting to show up and they feel like flu, but if a whole planet was put in a quarantine because of it, if I literally found a doomsday device in this base, it’s gotta be something more. And here’s the most terrifying part: this whole place is a gigantic gun. It’s programmed to shoot everything that goes near this planet. That means Sunbeam…  
\- Oh my god, they arrive in a few days, I need to do something. Anything. How can I even stop this, I won’t be able to even begin repairs on long range communications on the Aurora, plus, it honestly looks like the main communications bay is just. Gone now.  Why the hell don’t they equip lifepods with longer range communications?

 **Day 18** **  
**\- I’m still in shock because what happened yesterday.  
\- Okay, so when I finally came out of the alien quarantine unit, it was night. I could spend the night in the island but I had no desire to, I hated that place.  
\- I was coming back and I couldn’t see anything. It was so dark. It felt like a giant void, engulfing me, I was trapped there. I only had my lifepod signal in the HUD to guide me.  
\- I was almost leaving the area when that thing attacked. A leviathan, some kind of snake dragon with claws coming out of its face. It grabbed the Seamoth. I barely remember getting out.  
\- Ark I is in pieces and probably buried in sand now. This attack set me back days of work. I’ll have to build another A Seamoth.  
\- And when I got home, I had another signal in my base. It wasn’t from Alterra, not from sunbeam, not from a lifepod. It was from the aliens.  
\- I know what happened to the bodies. Those fucking purple creatures, they’re not creatures, they’re people. Or robots. I’ve seen them talk. They were the ones who chased down single human survivors and disappeared with them.  
\- I need to keep myself busy. I need something to do. I’m gonna make as many tools as I can and I’m gonna explore the Aurora. See if I can find anything there, supplies, blueprints, people. Whatever.  
\- Also, in all the fear of yesterday, I forgot to comment about my diamond. I found one! It’s not two diamonds so I can’t have a laser cutter. But it’s a diamond. I have a diamond.

**Day 20**

\- I made another goddamn Seamoth, and named it Ark II. Also, decided to explore the location of that second, deep in the water Degasi base. It was inside a cave, filled with giant… some kind of worm snakes? They were really aggressive.  
\- Still, going there was a good choice, guess what I found there? A fuckton of lithium and magnetite. I’m pleased with myself.  
\- Found more Degasi voice logs. I should stop listening. It’s just the Aurora all over again. I keep holding on to ghosts.  
\- But… In the end of the day, they decided to move even deeper. Said they found something there. I got the signal. It’s just over 500 meters down the ocean. I wouldn’t even consider going there if I wasn’t so desperate. But with the resources I have now, I just can’t. I’ll have to fix me a better Seamoth first. Maybe… maybe look for the other pieces of that Cyclops.

 **Day 23  
** \- Finally gathered the courage to visit the Aurora.  
\- There’s a lot of supplies there, blueprints, equipment. Besides, if I don’t fix that generator room, I will die of radiation, no matter how many pretty suits I wear.  
\- And so I went. I approached the place very slowly, because I could hear the roar of those dragons again. They didn’t find me. I escaped.  
\- Lifepod 4 didn’t have the same luck. I found the passenger’s recording. He said the name of that specimen is “reaper”. reassuring.  
\- I got out with a lot of supplies, such as first aid kits, protein bars, water and batteries. I fixed the radiation problem. AND. I got a Seamoth depth upgrade. We’re a little closer to that Degasi base now.

 **Day 26  
** \- I knew it would happen, somehow. Deep down.  I don’t know why I dragged myself to the island to watch it.  
\- The Sunbeam came. The gun shot it down. I couldn’t do anything.  
\- If only I’d had the equipment. The time to build something to send a warning, _anything_ to stop this.  
\- _It’s my fault isn’t it._ There’s no one left to blame but myself, after all.

 **Day 29  
** \- Alterra sent me codes to unlock the Aurora’s black box and retrieve the Neptune Rocket blueprint. Apparently there was a secret communication hub in the captain’s quarters the _whole damn time_ . I’ll have to thank them for it. Maybe a nice _fuck you_ fruit basket.  
\- I could build that, I could leave this place by myself. I could get to a hospital and get this disease cured. I really have just been coughing a little and feeling tired, I’m not covered in green pustules and bleeding, so maybe I don’t have that same disease the aliens put this planet under quarantine for. Maybe it was just a bad case of flu, after all.

 **Day 32  
** \- Visited the Aurora again and got those got dam codes. Oh, and this time I had a laser cutter. Guess what, found enough diamonds for one. The Jellyshroom Caves had a lot of those shale outcrops, which turns out sometimes have diamonds inside.  
\- Got more supplies, and - and holy shit I’m screaming - the blueprint for the PRAWN suit. Of course, it’s gonna be a bitch and a half to build, but I can make it! I will make it. I will punch every fucking fish in this _goddamn_ ocean in the _fucking_ face.  
\- Also got a dinosaur plushie. I’m naming him Mr. Nibbles. Cause I’m an _adult._

 **Day 38  
** \- I spent the last five days only farming. Literally, just driving my sea car one biome to another, visiting creepy places, quiet places, pretty places, dark places, I got so many things. Because, I’m. Going to make a base.  
\- It seems I will have to be here a while, because I have no idea how to find the materials to build that rocket. Long range scanners told me about cave entrances but they’re way too deep for me to get to, as of now. Which is why I need resources to upgrade my vehicle, and also to make more vehicles, and then upgrade those vehicles.  
\- I visited the Mushroom Forest, and turns out the whole fucking cyclops bay fell there. Cause I have it now. I have the cyclops blueprint.  
\- Also got a radio message. It seems the aliens finally noticed they forgot a human alive. Am I fucked? _Hell nah._ I have a stasis rifle now.

 **Day 50  
** \- So it’s over then  
\- The Degasi ended just like Aurora did.  
\- I got my Seamoth enough upgrades to dive to that 500m deep base of theirs. Found some fucked up creatures, ready for blood. They were still roaming around that ghost base, where the crew died. Attacked by a Leviathan.  
\- Once again, Bart survived the attack. Left the base just before that thing got there. It killed Paul and Maida. I only heard the creature’s screams, the roars. It was nothing like anything I’ve seen in this planet so far. Paul described it as a kraken, bigger than a Cyclops.  
\- Part of me wants to keep believing Bart is still out there, somewhere. But the voice logs said they were starting to get sick, just like me, when the leviathan attacked. After 10 years living with that dangerous alien disease, it’s just not realistic. I need to let go of those ghosts. I need to move on.  
\- I still have those shadows looking up to me.  
\- In a more uplifting note, I found another alien egg, and the thing inside is so cute it’s screaming to be hatched. Thankfully I got the Alien Containment blueprint in the base.  
\- Also got another alien tablet. An orange one this time.  
\- I got a very strange radio distress signal today. It’s from a relatively safe, almost boring biome called the Sparse Reef. I’m going there tomorrow. Stopped caring about ghosts at this point. Now I only care about supplies. I only care about surviving. I only care about me. I have to.  
\- _There’s no one left, after all._


	2. Entry Two: Robotic Routine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryley is depressed, eats breakfast, goes to find a ghost and finds something... different. Featuring Mr Nibbles Leviathan and Markiplier doll, the best cyclops alarm the game could offer us.

Ryley woke up, the Mortifying Mr. Nibbles Leviathan in their arms. They had found the dino plushie, a dumb-looking little thing, in one of their scavenging travels to the Aurora, and immediately proceeded to give it the worst name possible. It might not be the softest, but helped them sleep. Didn't seem very durable, but it was good enough to look over the base when they were out.

Their military survival training kicked them into gear almost immediately. They started up the coffee pot, one of the few luxuries they had acquired on their time on 4546B. Ryley put on an Alterra reinforced wet suit while waiting for it to brew. Breakfast today was Chinese Potato cakes, lovingly mixed with coral. _Yum_.

Ryley walked over to the aquarium to snatch a few Reginalds to cure for their daily meals, and emptied out the water filtration system on the way back.  As they passed it, they checked up on the bioreactor, pulled some more bulb bush samples and refilled it. A few experiences and comparisons revealed them to be an excellent fuel, which is why Ryley had a whole growbed dedicated to them.

They picked up the coffee, sat it down on the glassy bar table as they cured the Reginalds. Once they were ready, started munching on the potato cake, barely noticing the taste. It was all robotic. They were running on automatic. Looking out the window, Ryley sipped at their “deluxe Forbian coffee” as they had taken to calling it. And sighed.

They didn’t want to _do_ it today. Just yesterday they got back from the deep grand reef, investigating the last signal sent from the Degasi crew. Their last hope to find their old friend. After two months of chasing the signals and listening to the abandoned voicelogs, it almost felt like they were there with them. Until yesterday. Yesterday, when all the logs only carried death. Ryley had lost them once again, ten years too late. Their chest was tight of thinking about Bart's last log from up in the observatory, and how weak and hopeless he sounded. It wasn't fair that they'd come this far, gotten this close for nothing. Ryley was just... _Tired_. Feeling like giving up wasn't that much like a bad idea anymore.

But just sitting and waiting for the end was boring. Ryley's instincts forced them to keep moving. Today they would explore the wreck in the Sparse Reef they passed over in favor of the lifepod signal down below. They were still in a desperate search for survivors in those first few weeks. Still thought they could catch the ghosts, hold more than voices and echoes in their hands. They downed the rest of their coffee and grabbed some of the fabricated hair gel, so they could finally finish getting ready to go.

It took some work, but Ryley had managed to break their way around the fail-safes coded into the emergency PDA. It was now possible unlock blueprints unrelated to the environment and their survival. Yes, all for a little bit of hair gel. Although it was a pain at first, since the recipe required gel sacs and creepvine clusters. Nothing that some growbeds and days of farming couldn't fix. Things grew fast on that planet. Standing in front of the reflection of the aquarium hatch, they spiked up their streaked hair. It was nice to know that, despite all of the bullshit in their life, they still had hair gel.

They had just started the next robotic routine of collecting their gear, accepting the day as it was. However, the the telltale blip of the radio pinged in their ear.

Like always, their heart skipped a beat. Even when they'd given up on finding survivors, or communicating with Alterra in any way. Specially since it'd been over a week since the radio picked up on anything. Come to think of it, it was probably more chatter from what Ryley assumed to be the warper creatures that lurked around in the deep.

Well. Still worth a shot. Standing awkwardly, left flipper still in hand, they waddled over to the radio, activating the sync to their PDA.  What came out wasn't a warper. It was, indeed, a human voice, although the recording was corrupted to the point of being incomprehensible.

 

> **DEG▒▒▓▒▒I SURV▚VOR B▤█▚▓  ▒▭▓▊AL. URGENT. SUPP▙▚ DWI▞D▩▉LI▌. NE░▒  MED▔▖▘▙▚ ▓TTEN≡▗▘▙▚჻. SIGNA▋ ▙ OCATION UPLOA░░▒▒▓▓▒▒░░▓▓▓▓▒▓░░░░  .**

Ryley wasn't quite sure as to what it said, but they could make out “survivor” and “urgent”. Maybe something that sounded like medical? And what they assumed to be the usual “signal location uploaded”. Upon looking at the PDA, there was indeed a signal.  From the looks of the map they'd slapped together, it was in the sparse reef, right where they were headed anyway. Literally, almost in the same place, right below the wreck from the looks of the coordinates. Which just made it weirder. Ryley didn't remember seeing anything that would hint at a survivor in the area. There was the already abandoned lifepod, but like always, there was nobody, not a trace of life. Maybe there really was someone still alive? Keeping themselves for being hopeful was harder this time, things actually looked different. But Ryley managed. It was just another run for supplies. Maybe they would even find some toys, or new clothes, like back at Lifepod 7.

Before heading to the moonpool, they took a moment to update their journal before proceeding. It's been too many days. Seemed pointless, almost like homework, to do it at that point, but they found themselves to be particularly inspired after the message.

They hopped back over to the supplies locker, fins slapping on the floor. Almost tripped down with the hurry and those ridiculous shoes not made for walking. They were about to get into the Seamoth, when suddenly, they stopped. Stared back at the radio. _Don't do it,_ they thought.

But they did anyway. Just in case, they took a few minutes to pick up their old high capacity tank. The Seamoth didn't have room for two, after all. They didn't know what they would need if this was a rescue mission, but they'd take the Cyclops. It had plenty of charge, and was stocked with food, water… _Don't think about it. There is no one there._ Ryley stopped themselves. _No one. Just fucking leave._

As a last minute thought, they grabbed Mr. Nibbles.

* * *

 

Piloting a Cyclops alone was a hard task, but Ryley had gotten used to it. Once they docked the Seamoth inside it, they were ready to go. Ryley glanced over at the Markiplier doll and gave it a gentle whap upside it’s giant head. The funky music played as the engine powered up. Listening to the deep robotic voice, Ryley paused for a moment, opening their mouth as if to reply. When nothing came out but the quiet rasp of their breathing, they sighed, shaking their head and taking hold of the wheel. _Just a test. It's not like it means anything._ Gesturing at ahead standard, they left the Northern Kelp Forest, heading southwest from past the Aurora.

Ryley was filled with a nervous energy as they neared the blip on their map. Soon enough, they were right on top of it. According to the HUD, signal origins were 150 meters down, not enough to justify taking the Seamoth. They had an ultra high capacity tank and top of the line Alterra suits anyway.

Ryley had to tell themselves one last time not to get their hopes up, before locking on their helmet and exiting through the bottom hatch.

Orienting themselves, they pulled out their seaglide, fully charged for the occasion. The crevasse was about three yards down, but already Ryley had noticed something different. There was a solar panel on the edge of the cave opening, one that they were sure they would have noticed before. It had a crack in it, but judging by the faint blue line traveling downwards, it was still functional. _Dear god. Could it actually be..._

Ryley doubled their efforts, guiding the seaglide down into the crevasse and following the power line. They didn’t have to travel far, as they saw a small base, just a few corridors and a hatch, right near the alien vent. The same alien vent they had scanned, almost a month ago. _That was definitely new._ A tense excitement filled Ryley as they approached the hatch. Hesitated. They wanted nothing more than to fling it open and scream until answers came. Common sense decided against it, however, and they almost reverently unlatched the opening as they entered.

The place was mostly barren, aside from a radio and a fabricator. The designs were different, definitely not Alterran, and probably fairly outdated. That would explain why the signal came out so broken. Ryley hadn't seen an antenna that clunky since they were living with their parents. A momentary shiver ran down their spine at the thought, but they shook it off. _More important things._ There was a wall locker left open on the wall by the entrance. It appeared to only have a few cooked peepers and a disinfected water, however.

There was an open first aid kit lying on the floor, the painkillers and bandages taken out. The rest of it's contents strewn haphazardly across the floor. The packet of tissues was opened, some of them used and wet with an oddly luminescent green substance. Ryley gazed into it, brows furrowed. Seemed like the same thing they had seen on some of the fish? The Kharaa bacterium, for which the aliens that once had been there quarantined the whole planet for. Nervous, they decided not to touch it.

A small gasp startled them so much they let out an exclamation. Ryley's eyes drifted to the other end of the base, where, against a wall, someone was laying, deathly still. They froze. _No way._   Yeah, that was an actual human person.

Despite all the evidence, voice logs, and wrecks Ryley had witnessed, they had yet to find any bodies. No skeletons, no half rotten people parts. And now, there they were, faced with an actual living human.  They edged closer, letting out a gasp they didn’t know they were holding when they saw the person’s chest move. The breathing was labored, but there.

The man - it looked like a man, but it was hard to see the face behind the stained helmet - was wearing an ill-fitting, tattered green and grey wet suit, different from any Alterran ones Ryley had seen or crafted in their time on the planet. They reached out, trying to get the words past the lump in their throat. _Are you awake? I’m here to help_ . Nothing came but a garbled rasp that clunked around their ears. Ugh, so _fucking_ nervous. They were close now, almost touching the person’s shoulder. They could see one of their hands now, covered in cracks and glowing green pustules. Ryley pulled back, afraid to disturb someone obviously in pain, and slightly grossed out by the disease. Curiosity got the best of them, however, and kneeling down beside them, they took a closer look at the hand. It looked like they had tried to bandage the worst of it up. Looking up again, Ryley took a deep breath, picked up the nerve and tapped them on the shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We promised it wouldn't all be in that style. We'll be out with the next chapter soon.


	3. Entry Three: Old Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some long-awaited reunions are had.

It’s like the person exploded to life, albeit rather dully. They pulled a knife from behind their back and weakly flailed it around in front of them. Ryley pulled back, startled, almost being hit by the tip of the blade. Now that they had raised their face, they could see through some of the helmet. It was a man, he looked Asian. He was completely bald, and he looked… old? Maybe? 

They saw a multitude of bright green spots, covering a face as thin as a skull with a sickening glow, all too familiar. Ryley had seen several of the fish around the planet succumb to the bacterium. _Kharaa_ , as their research had told them. They were beginning to feel the symptoms themselves. But that guy… This infection was leagues beyond theirs, beyond most of what they’d seen for that matter.

Another swing of the knife made a small cut in Ryley’s cheek. They tried to grab him by the arms, but the movements were as unpredictable and desperate as they were weak. Ryley cleared some space.

“Don’t come any closer!” Yelled the man in a british accent. “Don’t touch me, you can’t! I’m infected!”

That’s when Ryley recognized the voice. They froze in shock. It wasn’t hopeless, after all. The trip to that place, the crash, all that hardship they faced, it had been worth it. They had found their friend. _Alive._

Bart Torgal saw them as they leaned closer. He started brandishing the knife once again.

 _I’m a friend! I’m your friend! I’m human!_  Ryley tried their best to pull the words out of their mouth, but only stuttering gasps came out instead. They kept trying, but the growing headache at their temples was starting to get so strong they could barely even think. They had to do something,  _anything_. Bart was panicking, he was not in his right mind, unable to understand what was going on in front of him. They had to think fast. _How can I prove to him who I am_. Ryley, struck by sudden inspiration, took their hands up to their helmet, still maintaining eye contact, and took it off.

Bart stopped moving, surprised, confused. Ryley raised their hands, slowly, in a calming gesture. Then, pointing at the other’s helmet, they slowly reached over. They fully expected the flinch he gave out when they unlatched it, setting it beside their own. Looking at the unhindered face of their friend, their concern only grew. He wasn’t old, only a few years older than Ryley. He just looked that way because of how sick and tired he was.

Bart’s panic subsided, slowly and he began to understand what was happening. “You…  _I know you_ … Don’t I?” he asked, haltingly, his voice raspy, sounding more painful the longer he talked. Ryley smiled sheepishly, giving a little wave. He leaned in closer, squinting. Then suddenly, his eyes widened. “Ryley…?” He asked, slowly. “Ryley, is that  _you_? Am I seeing things again?”

Ryley smiled wide. Bart took his hands to his face. “It can’t be… My  _god_. How in the absolute hell did you get here?” he laughed, almost crying. “Ryley, oh my stars, you’re my Ryley…” Bart tried leaning forward, tried to get closer to his friend, but with no strength left in him, he fell forward. Ryley held him before he reached the floor, embraced him tightly, and they cried together.

Bart was sick. Ryley could feel how little he weighed, the man was just skin and bones. They could feel how cold his body was, far too cold. Those green scars growing all over him were burning his skin, eating him alive. He had been suffering with it for over a decade, he had been alone and vulnerable on that planet for  _ten years_. Ryley was going a bit mad after only two months, they couldn’t even imagine. And yet, there he was. So  _stubbornly alive_ , just like a weed in the back of a garden.

It was time to get him somewhere  _safe_.

Ryley let go of him and got up, putting both their helmets back. He took Bart by the arm and raised him from the ground.

“What are you doing? Where are we going?” Bart asked, as he was pulled up. He almost fell again, as his legs gave it as soon as they had to support his own weight. “Ryley, I… I  _can’t_ –”

Ryley put a finger in front of their mouth on the helmet’s surface, took out their PDA, and pointed to a picture of the Cyclops. Then, pulled out the spare high capacity oxygen tank from their Alterra Compressed Inventory™, and attached it to Bart’s oxygen system. Ryley held him tight as they headed out of the base.  _I’ll keep you safe._

Ryley’s little seaglide threatened to dislodge Bart, so it was by their own swimming power alone that they got back to the submarine. Luckily it was rather close, as by the time they got there, they were rather low on oxygen. Ryley lugged the both of them in, immediately heading up the ladder, carrying their friend on their back. Walking towards the bed, he gently laid Bart down on the sheets. He started coughing and clutching his chest. Ryley got to work  unlatching his helmet and uncomfortable diving gear, piling it beside them on the floor. They got a little water bottle from the nearby locker, offering it to him. Bart, however, grabbed their hand instead.

“Thank you, Ryley…” He muttered. “Thank you…”He stared into their eyes for a few seconds, still dizzy, still looking like he’d say something else. But then, just turned over and instantly fell asleep. Ryley caressed his bandaged hand before slowly letting go. They were willing to bet that was the first time in a while Bart’s actually had a comfortable place to rest.  _Now that I've gotten that settled_ , Ryley paused, tucking their frail friend under the blanket, it’s time to wait.

They didn’t particularly want to pilot the Cyclops back to their base. The journey back would go through some rough waters for a vehicle so big, and the idea of strapping in their unconscious friend to the bed was unpleasant, even if it was to keep them from falling off of it while they maneuvered. So, they cleared a spot and sat on the counter, activating the coffee pot resting on it.

If Bart hadn’t stirred by morning, they were going to pilot the Cyclops to their base. That way they could keep power and Bart could have a bigger bed, in a warmer place. So, for now, Ryley had nothing better to do than to put their feet up on the makeshift bar and try to occupy themselves with something.

They opted for reading the many entries on the PDA. Maybe they could file all they had recorded about the Kharaa bacterium, see what were the symptoms, find anything that could be used to help Bart. Suddenly they felt bad about abandoning the task of researching the aliens after a few weeks.  _Alterra can’t tell me what to do, all the way out here_ , they thought.  _Jokes on them_.

Their thoughts wandered away, as the night wore on. To Bart, to memories. He was a magnet for trouble, that was for sure. Ever since they could remember, and now more than ever it seemed. Ryley glanced at the still figure laying on the bed, and wondered what Bart remembered about him. They wondered how different their friend would be, after so long.

They hoped for the best. And then went to sleep.


	4. Entry Four: Silent Pain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Communication is a work in progress, Ryley has a Hoarde(TM) and the floor gets ruined.

_The sound of people running. The feeling of a shallow breath. A massive energy, unleashed below ground. Everything was shaking. Moving. The floor, the walls, their body._

_The room was smaller now. It was on fire. They were trapped._

_They took their hands to their head. Blood. The scent of blood, dripping down into their eyes, the pain in their head, so strong, it felt like it would crack._

_It was all around them now. The smell of salt._

* * *

**MONGOLIAN STATES NATIONAL SCHOOL** **  
** **_11 YEARS BEFORE THE CRASH:_ **

             “Ryley, check this out!” They heard an excited voice behind them, in the crowded school hall's entrance, and turned back just in time to see Bart jogging to their direction, carrying a bag overflowing with unfinished blueprints.

             “Oh no. What insane science experiment do you have this time?” They answered.

             “Remember those cerebral implants I was messing around with?” He commented, digging in his pockets. “Well, I think I finally came up with an ideal interface for enhanced learning techniques.” Bart took a small metal box out of his pocket. He opened it, showing Ryley two metal rectangles inside.  They were thin as a paper sheet, covered in microscopic indents of wiring. “Install this in the cerebellum and you'll be able to assimilate visual and auditory impulses into clear, photographic memories, and your brain will process things you weren't even paying attention to! No more suffering over studying! Man, this is going to save my life in Stellar Economics class.”

             “Wow, and you did this all by yourself?” Ryley exclaimed, impressed. Bart proceeded babbling. “You’re gonna upstage the work you did with me”

             “You see this other chip here? It's capable of accessing all areas in your brain, making them more responsive to receiving and processing information.” He flipped it over in his palm, showing off the circuitry.  “You can download things directly into it, and then your whole brain will know it! Isn't it cool?”

             “It sure is, what are you going to do with it?” Ryley asked. “I’m guessing you didn’t go through all this trouble if you didn’t want to use it yourself.”

             “Well... I told my father. He gave me a yes. Said he is very proud of me.” Bart sighed, suddenly looking resentful. “He is so proud, in fact, that he is going to patent and sell it.” His tone dropped. “He's telling everyone about how awesome I am, his prodigy child making discoveries in the world of cutting-edge enhancement technology.”

             “Whoa, wait, why aren't you happy about this?” Ryley furrowed their brow. “This is a good thing, right?”

             Bart had suddenly gone silent. He lowered his head, which made a red streak of hair fall over his eyes. “It would be, if those discoveries were for myself.” He muttered. “I shouldn't complain, really. Father gives me all this creative freedom, he even let me choose what subject I would teach myself with those chips. It's just…”  Bart took in a deep breath. “He… he has a lot of plans for me. Everything I do right, he sees it as an opportunity for the future of his company.”

             “He just wants you to have an awesome career, mate.” Ryley rested a hand on his shoulder.  “You know, your dad is still better than mine. At least he doesn't call you Tyler.”

             “That's cause my name isn't Tyler, you little shit.” Bart laughed. “I _wish_  it was.”

             “Well, it isn’t my name either, is it? And yet here we are.” They replied, watching Bart pack away the chips.

             “Fair point.”

             The alarm blared. Time to go back to class. Sighing in resignation, Ryley adjusted their backpack and started walking away. However, they stopped, turning back to their friend again.  “Anyway,” Ryley cleared their throat. “You didn't tell me what you're gonna digi-teach yourself?” Ryley looked at him, smiling. “What are you gonna beam into that brain of yours?”

             “It's, hm.” Bart smiled, timid. “Advanced biochemistry?”

             “Right." Ryley let out a laugh. "Just another excuse to mess with your plants, isn't it?” They rolled their eyes. _Typical_ . “Why am I even surprised. Our room literally smells of flowers and succulents at this point. We’re honestly the only dorm on this side of campus that doesn’t reek of junk food and god knows what else.”

             “Don't be mean to my children.” Bart snarked back at them, waving a hand in their direction as he walked off. “You know you love them.”

             “Yeah, sure thing. All four million of them. See you later, idiot.” Ryley smiled, walking away.

* * *

 

**PRESENT DAY**

            Ryley knew they had fucked up when they heard the loud bump coming from behind of the Cyclops bridge.

            Dammit. So much for driving smoothly.

            They braked the submarine and hopped out from the wheel, getting back to the room right outside it. As they expected, Bart had rolled out of the bed and was currently getting up from the floor, and looking around in confusion, at his freshly bandaged everything.

            “Where the actual f…” He started. And then his eyes met with Ryley’s.

            It took him a few seconds to properly react to it.

            “MY GOD. RYLEY!” He yelled, getting up and just sort of stumbling to their direction really fast. “It wasn’t a dream! I wasn’t imagining it! _You’re here!”_

            Ryley grabbed him before he tripped and fell again. Weaving their head, they gently placed Bart on the bed again.

            “Sorry, I just got excited.” He gasped. Ryley had to lean in closer to listen, as his voice was faded and weak. “I still can’t believe this is happening.”

            Ryley quickly retreated their hands once they noticed that green goo starting to leak on their fingers. They looked at it, spooked.

            Quickly regretted it, though. Bart noticed, and awkwardly moved away.

            “Yeah, it’s… it’s not good, right.” He muttered. “I’m gross.”

            “Ah, n…”

            Ryley fell into a guilty silence. They lowered their head, cursing to themself. Dammit, they didn’t intend to make their friend feel bad. Before they could think of anything to say, however, Bart noticed and kept talking.

            “Where are we going, anyway? Are you trying to drive this sub through the Shallows? Is there any seatbelts in this bed?” He laughed.

            Then sighed, and leaned against the wall.

            “Bloody hell. Ryley Robinson. My personal guardian angel. God, can't _believe_ I got to see you again.” He smiled. “I really didn’t expect anyone had survived that crash to even answer my call for help. I really was on my last leg back there. And then… it's like you were sent to me. Maybe some force above wanted me to live.”

            Ryley cleared their throat, a little embarrassed. Right. Religious beliefs. Forgot about that.

            “So you were with that giant ship floating out there?” Bart asked. “Since when are you with Alterra? I never thought I’d see _you_ working for the likes of them. And why were you even doing here, in the edge of explored space? Oh wait. Let me guess. A Phasegate?” Ryley nodded. “How is it like, working for Alterra?” He kept going. “I heard awful things about them. Like, they basically owe you whole, is it true? You can only do things their way, or no way at all?”

            There he was, babbling like always. Ryley felt dumb, but they were holding back tears. It was so good to hear that voice again. It wasn’t another abandoned voicelog buried in the sand this time. It was the actual Bart Torgal sitting on the bed beside them, talking in the same old accented English he learnt from his father, that they remembered so well. It was the first time Ryley felt glad to not have hair gel in their hair, as it was fallen in front of their face, hiding their teary eyes.

            “Do people ever talk about the Degasi ship? Do they ever talk about my crew?" He asked, quietly, almost sad. "Or did they forget about us? Did they care at all that we went missing?”

            Ryley remembered about the data scans they decoded from a wreck. They remembered Jochi Khasar. Part of Aurora's mission was to scan the surface of 4546B, see if they found any traces of the missing Mongolian ship.

            “Why don't you _say anything?!_ ” Bart yelled, his expression abruptly twisting to rage. “I'm talking to you, dammit! It's been a _decade_ since I don't even _see_ another human, can't you at least _say_ something? What's _wrong_ with you?!”

            “I d-dn… I…”

            Ryley wanted to answer. They really did. But couldn't produce a single coherent sentence. Not a single word. Nothing came from their mouth besides stuttering hesitant sounds.

            Bart seemed to notice the desperation in their face, the effort they put into trying to communicate. Slowly, his anger gave way to worry.

            “What... what is wrong with you?” He asked again, this time more carefully.

            Ryley shook their head. "I don't know." Such simple words. They knew they wanted to say those words. But something in his brain, between thinking and saying, was broken.

            Bart placed a hand in the other's face, and moved the hair away from their eyes, exposing a huge, deep scar in Ryley's forehead.

            “Oh... _Oh no._ ”

            They hadn’t realized it until they had someone else to talk to. They hadn’t realize that the scar was deeper than it should be. They remembered the daily headaches, the blood dripping down their face when they woke up 12 hours after the crash, strapped to the chair, with Lifepod 5 catching on fire. That panel. That fucking panel.

            “Ryley, I’m so sorry… I didn’t see it, I… I’m sorry…” Bart’s hand was still on their temple, tracing the raised edge on the long jagged line that ran into their forehead. Ryley took their hand to his, and slowly removed it. They looked away. Didn’t want to see that look of pity in his face.

            Could they be fixed? Was it gone for good? Would they really, never speak again?

            Maybe not. Not if they could help it.

            Ryley grabbed their backpack, abandoned on the floor, and took out the PDA. Bart noticed what they were doing.

            “C’mon, Ryley, say something! I don’t mind what voice you use.”

            Ryley finished typing. With the press of a key, the PDA read out, in a painstakingly robotic tone.

            “Getting close to base. I’ll go back to driving.”

            Bart smiled.

            “Hey, there. That’s a start.”

 

* * *

 

            The bumpy ride continued for another half an hour, with Ryley standing in front of the piloting wheel, and Bart sitting in a chair beside them. Then, the base popped into vision, surrounded by moss and algae. It was right at the edge of the kelp forest with the grassy plateaus.

            Bart whistled. It was a big place.

            “Wow, you’ve been busy.” He said. Ryley answered with a proud smile. On the inside, however, they knew the base was only that big because they threw themself into work, to the point of barely remembering to eat, to avoid thinking of anything else.

            There were two big structures, separated by 20 meters of one another. The first one, closer to the kelp, was probably where Ryley lived and worked, made their equipment, cultivated their food. The second one was a lot smaller, a line of two multipurpose rooms and one Scanner, connected by tubes.

            “What is that one for?” Bart asked. “Those separated rooms, I mean.”

            Ryley typed a single word into the PDA.

            “Research.”

            “Research? Of what? What are you talking about” Bart inquired, curious. “Are you gonna show me later? I want to see it. Since when do you even do that?”

Ryley looked at him, smirking.

“Alright, I’ll calm down.”

            Maneuvering the Cyclops, they parked it several meters above ground level, in the space between the two structures. The deep robotic voice announced the engine being powered off. Ryley took the PDA and wrote down yet another sentence.

            “Take the Seamoth? Park it on the pool”

            “Sure. Good idea.” Bart thanked. “It’s hard to swim when you can’t even walk properly.”

            He got up from the chair and painfully walked to the direction of the vehicle, holding onto the walls to maintain balance. Ryley turned to him, as if meaning to help, but he just smiled.

            “I can do it, pal. Don’t worry.”

            Still unsure, Ryley lingered around until he boarded the small vehicle. Then, shrugged and attached the oxygen tank back to the suit. Going downstairs, they opened the hatch and dived.

            They met back with him on the moonpool. Bart was already leaning against the wall when they climbed the stairs. He was looking at the plant pots and posters decorating the place.

            “Bulbo trees. I like those. They taste like coconuts.”

            Ryley signalled for him to follow. They crossed the first multi-room, filled with lockers and equipment such as a fabricator, radio, battery chargers. Right after it, a three compartment tube opened for two other places. In front of them, another room, containing a bioreactor. On the left, a glass tube.

            “Hungry?” Asked the PDA.

            “Quite, yeah. Starving.” Bart admitted. Ryley conducted him to the left, across a glass tube, and he saw himself in… some sort of restaurant? There were wall planters and a growbed on the right side, a small bart table in front of a window on the left. In the back of the room, a Filtration machine. And another fabricator.

            Bart stared at the bar table, curious.

            “Two chairs…” he noticed. “Aren’t you the only one in here? Did someone else survive?”

            Ryley’s expression saddened. They denied, with a wave of their head. Bart suddenly understood.

            “Well, I get it, it really is a lot easier to make two chairs instead of moving the same one when you just want a different view on the window.” He joked. “Unfortunately, now I’m here and I’ll have to steal one of them. I’ll take your least favourite one, don’t worry.”

He said, as he sat in the one he judged to have the poorest view of the window. That’s when he noticed…

            “What the _fuck_ is all that?” Bart laughed. In front of the window, on the floor, there was a _pile_ of metal scrap. “Did the stalkers bring you that? Or did you pick it up yourself?”

            Ryley didn’t have a typed answer ready for that one. They just snorted, hiding their face in embarrassment.

            “Well, no wonder your base is so big. There’s enough titanium there to build a second Degasi.” Bart commented. Ryley offered him a bowl full of potatoes, bulbo slices and lantern fruits. “Oh, wow! Thank you, pal. I haven’t eaten lanterns in forever.”

Ten years of fighting for survival might have changed it, but they remembered when he used to be a vegetarian. Organic Bart, always picking freshly cultivated plants over synthetic anythings.

“Ryley… do you have a spare blanket, by any chance?” Bart asked, timid. “It’s a little… I’m cold. I’m really cold.”

            Ryley widened their eyes, and nodded, quickly leaving the room. They didn’t have a spare blanket, but they had fiber mesh, which could be used to make it. They ran to the locker, and, upon inspecting it, realized they could just make a new bed for Bart. It would only take a second longer anyway.

            The bioreactor room would be perfect. The warmth generated by it should fit their friend’s needs. Ryley deconstructed the bench in front of the window, putting the bed in it’s place.

            Just as they grabbed the blanket, however, they heard a loud noise in the kitchen, as if something had just hit the titanium floor. Ryley ran back, only to find Bart fallen down to his knees, coughing his lungs out.

            _“Aaah!”_ They exclaimed, running to his side.

            “Pocket…” Bart struggled to say. He vomited on the floor. There was blood, there was that dreaded green goo from his Kharaa marks. And some lantern fruit.

            Ryley reached into his pocket and found a syringe. Some kind of epi-pen, filled with a sparkling golden liquid, nothing they ever seen in a standard medical kit. Bart grabbed it from their hand and stabbed himself in the leg, letting out a pained moan. He fell on the floor, laying on his side, trying to avoid the puddle of puke.

            “Oh god, I ruined” a cough “I ruined your floor, I’m sorry.”

            Ryley sat on the floor, looking at him, exasperated. God, how they wish they could talk. _You’re throwing up blood and this is what you worry about?_

            “I think I’ll leave eating for later, alright?” Bart whispered. “I think I might need to lay down.”

            _Alright. And the understatement of the year awards goes to..._

            Ryley remembered they were still holding the blanket, and placed it on his shoulder. They helped him up, holding him by the arm. Very slowly, they reached the bed on the other room. Ryley laid him down, and sat beside him.

            Bart looked at the window, tired. At least it was a nice view. The soft yellow glow that came from a nearby cluster of creepvine seeds, the distant echo of a reefback in the horizon. He snuggled up into his blanket and sighed.

            “That was my last shot, the one I just used on my leg.” He said. “If I have any chance to survive another week, I’m gonna need more. That wasn’t just a common medkit nanite injection, you know. But don’t worry, I’ll teach you how to make those.”

            “What is it?” Ryley typed. “A treatment?”

            “Do you remember the metal structure by my base yesterday? Those vents, had you seen them before?”

            Ryley signed yes. Right, they remembered now. The mysterious alien structures apparently scattered across various biomes in that world. The scanner hadn’t been very helpful in explaining what they were, or what for. But they remembered it spitting out some sort of sparkling gold substance… oh, hold on.

            “Those vents are the only reason life in this planet still exists, Ryley.” Bart explained. “It’s transporting something to the surface, from deep down inside the ground. The scanners said it was an enzyme. Something must be producing it down there. A creature, maybe? Or maybe it was something the aliens who lived here created.”

            Ryley covered their mouth, suddenly remembering the strange vision they had, days ago. A creature. Just a silhouette, with four glowing eyes. It looked into them, it _saw_ them. “ _What are you?_ ”

            They shook the memory away, nervous.

            “Whatever that is, it’s our best shot. There are peepers swimming around, covered in that substance, and they specifically go after infected fauna. Almost as if they were trained. Upon some research, I found out that the enzyme inhibits the effects of the Kharaa. Using it, I developed a medical kit fabricator designed specially to treat the disease. However… it broke down. I didn’t have the resources to build another one, and I was too weak to go look for more. This is when I called you.” He smiled. “And you answered.”

            Ryley’s eyes widened. They quickly typed a word into the PDA. “ _So there is a cure?_ ” They hoped. The annoying robotic voice was nowhere near conveying the right feeling of their question.

            But Bart shook his head.

            “Do I look cured to you, Ryley?” He smiled tired. Ryley’s excitement faded.

            “It’s growing inside of me now. Not just in my skin.” Bart muttered in a broken voice. “It’s… all over. My body is a living, breathing tumor.” The man looked at them. The gaze of his black eyes was pronounced by the dark circles, buried deep in a thin, almost skeletal face. “And you know it won’t be living and breathing for long, either. I know you can see it, there’s no point in lying to ourselves. I’m dying.”

            Ryley looked down, clenched their fists. They wondered if he knew. He would come to that conclusion soon, if he didn’t already. They were on the same planet, swimming on the same waters. There was only one conclusion to be taken from that.

            They didn’t have to wonder. He knew it. Bart looked at them, and the pain was visible in his eyes.

            “You’re sick too, aren’t you?” He asked.

            Ryley confirmed. Bart gasped, starting to cry.

            “My gods…” was all he said.

            Ryley forced themselves to face him again, although they were both crying again. _Ten years,_ they thought.

            “Ten years.” read out the PDA.

           “I know. Based on all my research on that illness, I should have died after the sixth.” Bart let out a shy smile. “But with a lot of medications, that enzyme, and a very big stubborn streak, I was able to double that time. According to the PDA, I still have, I’d say… about two years. Two Earth years.”

             “We’ll fix it before that time.” Ryley answered, typing on their tablet as fast as they could. “We’ll fnd this mysteriuos allen creture and get the cure out from it.

             They realized their many mistakes when the PDA made a poor attempt of reading the typos out loud. Oh damn it. They typed too fast, the words got mangled. If the moronic voice of the AI hadn’t ruined the moment already, it reading out spelling mistakes got it done for sure. Ryley grumpily crossed their arms. It just took so damn long to type. They missed talking already. _IT JUST TAKES SO DAMN LONG TO TYPE._

 _"AAA”_   They blurted in frustration.

            “I see the problem.” Bart agreed, carefully pushing himself up, talking over Ryley’s protests. “It takes too long to type. We should come up with a faster way for talking. Do you know sign language?” Ryley denied. “No problems. I do.” He assured. “I could teach you. I mean, I’m very rusty, but the PDA should be able to help. What do you think?”

             A series of knocks on the bed’s frame. The man noticed their friend had answered “yes” in Morse code. “Oh, yeah, that will be helpful too. Specially on the radio.” He encouraged.

             With some difficulty, Bart leaned forward, grabbing onto Ryley’s hands, joining fists, thumbs up. “Together.” He said. “This means ‘together’. It’s how we’re gonna learn how to talk, and it’s how we’re going to find the cure. Understood? I’m not going anywhere without you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so. We're splitting the chapters in two on tumblr. So if you want faster updates? Follow mrnibblesleviathan. We post fanart and lore on occasion too!


	5. Entry Five - Dead Zone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> baby's got some problems and they're all glow sticks of WHY'D YOU EAT MY FRIENDS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we're sorry about how long it's taken. This is a big thing that we're both very excited about, but both of us have struggles with mental health and executive dysfunction, and Isa (Ace_Pirate) has to handle her schooling as well. Me on the other hand, I'm prone to migraines. What I'm trying to say is, we're gonna be slow sometimes. It doesn't mean that the fic isn't going to be finished. Everything is planned out in (honestly almost insanely) meticulous detail, we just need to write it. And I promise you it will get done. --Nikola

“And this one is ‘medicine’,” Bart was moving his hands slowly, watching as Ryley attempted to mimic. “No, you have it backwards, your left hand is the one that moves, _there_ you go!” He said. “Now, let’s train those useful sentences again. Can you sign ‘I find food’ for me?”

Ryley complied, although way too slowly for their tastes. Bart seemed pleased, but the truth was, they were hating it. Learning languages was never their forte, specially one that used an entirely new format. But they knew it would be a lot easier to communicate if they learned it, so... They had to give it a chance.“I find water.” Said Bart. “Hull is breached.” Then later, “I am hurt.” A few minutes of Ryley clumsily replying.

“Good! You’re doing great!” He congratulated. “Now, a longer one, for a challenge. Say with me, _scanners found supplies in the forest.”_

Ryley groaned. What was the sign for “supplies” again?

Bart stopped, dead on his tracks when Ryley attempted to sign. He burst out laughing.

“Ryley… you just signed _fuck_.” He wheezed. Ryley widened their eyes, then promptly hid their face in embarrassment. “I don’t think the scanners can locate that.”

Struggling a little bit to remember the motion, they signed the word for “sorry” and shrugged.

“Don’t sweat it.” Said Bart. “it’s not bad for a first lesson. You’ll catch on pretty quick, I can see it.”

Ryley leaned back on the wall, and looked out the kitchen window. Just earlier that day, they had fabricated some extra growbeds, lining them up on the foundation outside. Used to be only three, with creepvines, mushrooms and gel sacks, the exploitable only. And a few other plants with no use, that they found pretty. But after Bart said he felt like an intruder in their base, they built more, just to give him his space. Ryley knew how much he liked gardening, so… It was a start.  

Bart was about to go for another sign lesson, when suddenly the two PDAs on the table went “ding”. Ryley grabbed theirs and looked over it.

“DOWNLOAD COMPLETED.” Said the robotic voice. “432 BLUEPRINTS AND 2154 PDA ENTRIES ADDED TO DATABANK.”

 _Wow, that many?_ Ryley thought, dumbfounded. Come to think, a whole decade was a lot of time for scanning things. They grabbed the other and handed it to Bart.

“Ah, here we go!” Bart exclaimed. “Most of the blueprint files are old versions of ones you already have, though. Salvaged most of them from the Degasi wrecks. The others… well. I made them myself." He smiled, shy.

Ryley was looking through the blueprints, trying to find the one that mattered. Bart said he could still go a couple days without his enzyme shots, before it got dangerous again, but Ryley could see how he was struggling with the pain on his body. His medication was their top priority.

There were some interesting new things there though. A hardened plasteel knife, exterior plant pots _(“of course you figured that one out”_ ), power cells compatible with habitats, enamelled glass windows that were able to maintain hull integrity… even simple things, like scissors and a comb. Gods, Ryley could use one of those.

Finally, they found what they were looking for. A first-aid kit fabricator, painted yellow, titled "Counter-Bacterium Medical Fabricator". They looked the list of materials. Three fibermesh, check. Copper wire, check. Advanced wiring kit. Ah well. A pain in the ass to make, but the materials were easy to get. And at last, 50g of the mysterious gold enzyme from the vents per medkit.

“Is this the thing you need me to make?” They asked, just to be sure.

"Yeah. A bit of a mouthful, isn’t it? I guess I wanted it to sound professional." Bart sighed. "The enzyme is the hardest part, but the peepers have plenty of it on them. If you grab like, a dozen of them, it should last us for over a month."

“So you need fucking live peepers in it? To make it work??” Ryley typed out, baffled. “Let’s get peepers for the peepkit, lads, my friend is dying.”

Bart laughed at the sarcastic look on Ryley's face. “Yeah good to know you’re still a little shit.”

Ryley laughed and gave him a thumbs up before they got up to leave _._ They figured they could head to the mushroom forest vent and grab the peepers, most of the other stuff would be near there or in the biome itself. “Is there anything else you’ll need?” They typed out. “While I’m out, anyways.”

"Actually, yeah. Not my base, but... on the way to it. There's a small cave I wanted to look into. If you find a green, bulbous plant, bring me some seeds, will you?" He said. “Here, I’ll mark it on the map for you.”

Bart’s map was a lot bigger than theirs, but still incomplete. When they overlapped it, the only unmapped areas seemed to be on the farthest reaches of West and North. The South was almost completely explored, except for a big area of the Grand Reef. Ryley had been there, just once, in their trip to the old Degasi base. Not a pleasant place at all. Still, they expected the place to be fully mapped, considering Bart had lived there.

One thing they immediately noticed was that, no matter where you looked in the map, it seemed to form a rough shape with about a 4-kilometre radius. Outside of it, there was only empty space, which the map titled the Dead Zone.

“What is the Dead Zone?” They asked. “Never been there.”

“Good thing too.” Bart shivers. “It's everywhere around us, if you swim far enough, at least that's what the scan says. All I could detect there in the long range was microorganisms and Leviathan lifeforms. Which is why I decided not to go exploring it.” He said. Ryley started to feel a heavy sensation in the pit of their stomach. Bart proceeded, pointing to the map. “Did you know all of this is a dormant volcanic crater? All biomes grow here, and it’s close enough to the surface to be safe. Outside of it, it’s just a dark and dead abyss. What a creepy thought, huh? We’re lucky we landed where we did.”

Ryle’s hands started shaking. They dropped the PDA, which landed with a loud clatter. Bart looked at them, worried.

“Ryley?” Bart looked confused. “Ryley, are you alright?”

They tried to shake it off, they leaned down and grabbed the PDA. Their hands trembled as they typed “I have to go. See you later.” And they ran out of the habitat.

* * *

 

**_Aurora, 2 months prior_ **

Alarms were blaring, Ryley was counting heads as they all ran down the hall. They shouted for the last few panicked stragglers in their division to follow, they wrenched open the door panel manually. _20, 21, 22… and I make 23, good to go!_ “Everyone, follow me! Don't lose anyone! And for _fuck’s sake_ quit yelling, it's not going to make you die any slower!”

“Sir!” Ryley hid the flinch that always followed, nodding. “What exactly happened?”

Ryley looks into the man's eyes. “I'm not sure. There was an impact. We need to hurry.” Ray was only 24. He's got a girlfriend in navigation. He was going to propose when we reached the end of the Ariadne Arm, out on the observation deck. Always strangely nice to Ryley, prickley to almost everyone else.  He didn't deserve this.

They led everyone to the closest life pod bay. It was a chore to keep the panic under wraps, but it kept their crew from mobbing, so it was well worth it. “Everyone, grab a buddy, these are two person lifepods! Quickly, find someone you can stand a survival situation with _please_ ! No, Quinton that's an order, _now! Into the damn pods!”_

“Ryley?” Vi, a quiet girl with a knack for fixing AI’s, lingered. “What about you?”

Ryley took her hand for a moment and looked into her eyes. “I'll be fine. Now go!” They watched as she tearily made her way into the pod, before they turned and ran as their crew all jettisoned out. _They made it out. That's good enough._

Ryley ran through the halls of the shaking ship, looking for just _one_ lifepod. One one hand, they're glad everyone made it out, on the other hand, this has gone past ridiculous. Finally, at the very end of the bay, there was a lifepod. Lifepod 5. With a sign attached. “ **Warning: 45% chance of malfunction. Do not use in case of emergency** .” Yeah, that was totally a good sign. _Fuck it, better than nothing._

They opened the hatch and dropped down the ladder. They fell into the seat, felt the safety belt press into their chest as the lifepod shot downward and the alarms became distant in an instant. They looked up to see the fire envelop the ship, and forward to see a loose panel (that _probably_ was the reason for the sign) fly around the pod. And then everything went black.

* * *

 

**Present, Mushroom Forest**

_Dead, they’re all dead._ They punched a sandstone deposit a little harder than necessary.  They weren’t sure what they expected. They _were_ the only one to show up when the sunbeam had a landing site. But it was still whirling in their mind, _my fault, if I had just been a little more cautious._ They punch another deposit. Lead. Useless.

They couldn’t think about anything but the 11 pods that they had managed to fill before the Aurora crashed. Their entire team was gone. Completely evacuated, with time to spare. No wonder they hadn’t found any of them.

So many pods were jettisoned but they had found so few, so few had sent out signals. _They were destroyed before they could ask for help_. With their team being the first out of the ship, they probably landed miles away from the safe biomes of the crater. Right into Leviathan territory.

They tried to control the thoughts in their head as they chased the shimmering peepers through the forest. They tried to tell themselves that there was no way they could have known, but it was hard to listen to reason when the opposing team has their team of bright young engineers and programmers getting _attacked by leviathans_.

What had been the last thing they ever said again? _"I'll be fine."_

Ryley wasn't fine.

* * *

 

Something had happened and Bart knew it. The way Ryley just ran off made him worry, but it's not like he could have chased them to ask what was wrong. So, in the bed he stayed, alternating between watching the fish outside the window and reading the information Ryley had gathered.  They’d actually gathered a fair amount, which earned him a good quiet time of compenetrated study. It had been so long since he had new material to analyze, to actually learn from. The last years had been mostly a fight for survival, in which he'd been too busy barely scrapping the "being alive" class to actually study the wildlife again. Sometimes he just missed being a scientist.

Almost two hours passed without him even noticing, lost in the new information his friend had discovered with the aid of more technological tools. Bart was somewhat alarmed that Ryley had managed to scan a boneshark, though he figured if anyone could do it, it _would_ be Ryley. There was an entry that stopped him in his tracks, however.

“ _Assfish McGee?”_ He yelled into the empty room. He was no stranger to talking alone. “What in the _actual hell_ is an Assfish McGee?” He pulled the PDA up closer to his face, reading through the entry. “That’s… That’s a fucking crashfish, how did they scan a crashfish?” He backed out of the entry, still confused, and started going through the other ones. “ _Fartmaster?_ ” He laughed. “There’s no way that’s not a gasopod.” Bart grinned as he read the entry, suspicions confirmed by the identical information to his own entry. “I knew it, that’s a majestic bastard right there.” He kept scrolling, hoping for more of the incorrect entries. “And what on Earth is a Cursed Wiggler?” The entry wasn’t one he recognized, but from what he was reading, he realized... “No. They didn’t… a damn _Crabsnake?_ Scanned _up close?_   _How_ do they do it?" He whispered. "There's so much to study here... Bless that stupid, reckless idiot."

Bart's yelling seemed to have attracted company. A bright blue ghostly figure swam by the window, stopping to look at him. He left the PDA at the table, getting up slowly. Now, why was there a Jellyray in the kelp forest?

He walked to the window, a little too fast, and the creature backed away.

"Oh no... I don't mean to scare you!" He whispered, in a calming voice. He wondered if it would make any difference, and if it could even hear him beyond that glass. "What are you doing here? Aren't you a little far away from home?"

The ray swirled, going up and disappearing behind the ceiling. Instinctively, Bart hopped out of the bed and followed its tail to the glass tube connected to the kitchen. The ray was now swimming around the second floor, which Bart knew contained an aquarium for edible fish. He had seen Ryley go up and come back with some bladders for dinner.

"Maybe this is your home." He realized. "Were you hatched here?"

"WELCOME ABOARD CAPTAIN." Said the habitat voice, as the hatch opened. Ryley entered, dripping water on the floor, which immediately started drying itself. They wrenched off the helmet of their suit, dropping it in a locker by the hatch, lovingly labeled “DON’T DIE”.  Dropped the tools in there too, along with the oxygen tank.

“Who is this… friend?” Bart pointed at the ray, who was swimming around the window nearest Ryley excitedly. Bart watched as his friend walked over and put a hand on the glass. With a tap of their fingers, two other creatures showed up. Two rabbit rays of different sizes and colours. The lighter, smaller of the two nuzzled it’s face where their hand was resting, and Ryley smiled.

They pulled out the PDA and typed “They’re mine, I hatched them here.  They seem to have imprinted on me. Named them after some old online friends.” They pointed at the darker rabbit ray and typed “That’s Frill.” Then they moved on to the jelly ray, “…Heather,” And the lighter rabbit ray, “…and Miz”.  

“So they’re like your own little fish crew,” Bart smiled as the rays swirled around in front of Ryley. “They seem fond of you. Is there anyone else I should know about?”

Their face lit up as they signed “Wait,” and climbed the ladder to the aquarium right above. After a few moments, they came back with something cradled gently in their arms. They opened their hands up, showing a small egg with a transparent grey membrane, containing a ridiculously adorable creature inside. Bart recognized it immediately.

“Found, your base”. Ryley said, briefly, typing with just one hand.

“My… my cuddlefish egg! You rescued it!” Bart took the small egg in his hands. “I thought the carnivores ate it… I’m so glad you found him, Ryley. I felt really bad when I fled.  I thought I had abandoned it, that the cuddlefish would never have the chance to live. I’m glad I was wrong.”

Ryley nodded, happy, as Bart returned him the egg. Before climbing back to the aquarium, he showed the inventory screen to Bart. He smiled as he saw the seeds he was looking for.

“Ryley, you’re the best” he said, when his friend got back. “Thank you so much for everything you’re doing for me. You don’t know how much I appreciate it. But, please… talk to me. Stop dodging.” He stared at them. Ryley stopped in the middle of the room, suddenly aware of the concerned look directed at him. Bart crossed his arms.

“You left awfully quick this morning. Spent the whole day out, almost as if you were trying to avoid something.” He said. “Let me help you too, Rye. Did something happen?”

Ryley shook their head, trying to find an excuse. At the very least, they couldn’t do that there, where Bart could fall. He was already leaning against the wall. They steeled their face and picked up their friend, who made a very amusing noise of protest, and walked him over to the bed.

They stayed there for a moment. Bart hesitantly edged closer and placed his hand on their back.

“Take your time” He said. He felt the air push Ryley’s shoulders up and down. They pulled out the PDA.

“My team.” They typed slowly. “My crew. There were 22 other people. Engineers and programmers mostly. I was the head of the division.” They said as the memories came flooding back. “I got them out fast. I was the only one to get their entire division out from what I could see. But apparently it was all for nothing.”

“They ended up falling in the...” Bart whispered. “When I told you about the dead zone… that’s why you… Ryley, I’m so sorry--”

“Is it my fault? I have saved them, at least given them a fighting chance if I had just spent a little more time trying to find more people. If I had delayed a little longer, they could be alive right n…” Ryley gave up on writing and placed the PDA on the bed with shaking hands. They felt Bart’s arms wrap around them, and this time they leaned back into it.

“Don’t let me hear you even thinking that it was your fault. You knew nothing of the planet’s ecosystem, okay?” Bart put a hand on the back of their head. “You did what you thought was best with the information you had. The ship could have exploded and then all of you would have been dead. Then I’d be dead too.”

Ryley was quiet, but they weren’t shaking as much. They didn’t seem inclined to move, however. Which was fine, in Bart’s book. Even if they were rather heavy, they made up for it by being incredibly warm. He could stay there as long as they needed him.

Still, they moved. Had to. That peepkit fabricator wouldn’t build itself.


	6. Entry Six: Silhouette

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Baby's got more problems and theyre all dead again

Ryley was surprised to find Bart standing in front of the window from the workstation as they came back from their daily gathering of building materials. He seemed almost fine today. Didn't look like he'd fall at any second.

He greeted Ryley at the moonpool with an excited voice. "Hey, pal! What did you get for me today?"

"Copper, Titanium, Silver. How you feeling?" Ryley asked, signing. They were progressing, little by little. That was a sentence that was useful enough for them to remember most times.

"I'm feeling as great as someone who's got space plague can be." He answered with a smile, watching Ryley climb out of the pool. "I only blacked out once today.” He waved at them when Ryley crossed their arms in disapproval.  “Hey, don't worry, I'm better now. I just wanted to see how the cuddlefish was doing. I climbed the ladder to the aquarium. Maybe I shouldn't have done that." Bart apologized, turning his head away.

Ryley noticed a certain frustration in that gesture. They looked at him, trying to remember the sign for the  _ wrong  _ in “what’s wrong”. Unable to remember, they resolved for "what's up" instead. Bart seemed to get it.

"Sometimes... I feel like I'll never get better." He confessed. "I should have accepted this already. I've been living with this disability for  _ years _ now, but..." He shook his head, sighing. "Trying to do anything usually means pushing myself." He told them, more for his own sake than theirs. "Trying to study means giving myself a headache, trying to climb a ladder means passing out. Even just doing nothing is uncomfortable. I can't remember a time where being awake didn't hurt."

Ryley sighed, letting that sink in. It was still hard for them, to listen to Bart talk about his pain. Of course, being in pain was even worse for Bart, and they realized that, but it made them feel so useless. They could fabricate him some medication, do their best to give him comfort, but in the end, specially after seeing him talk about it as a disability, rather than a disease, they knew that illness wasn’t going away. At least not any time soon.

"But you are... going better", they answered. Even though they mistook the sign for "getting" to "going", it still made sense. They pulled out the PDA from the Compressed Inventory and started typing. "I’ve been watching you get better. It's only been a few days, and look! You're back to walking again. You're already decorating the base with new plants! You’ve made so much progress!"

"C'mon, Ryley, I told you to sign." Bart smirked. "You already learned a lot of these words."

Ryley stopped typing, making a pouty face. They did their best to remember the next words, so they could sign them off. "I… think…  I know what you need." They said. And then, fast and surprisingly, they grabbed Bart and threw him on their back. To be fair, Bart weighed about as much as a sack of fiber mesh, it wasn’t hard.

"WH..." Bart gasped. "What are we doing? Ryley what the fu-"

His words were cut short when Ryley threw him out into the moonpool, making water splash in all directions. They quickly grabbed his helmet, resting inside his personal locker, and cannonballed into the sea with him. 

Bart was still gasping and coughing when they arrived at the second base, the separate half from Ryley's habitat. They helped Bart through the hatch, laughing as he stared at them in confusion.

"A warning next time would be nice, you know?" He complained. "But I'm glad you finally brought me here. I've been wanting to see what you kept..."

He forgot to finish the sentence, as he saw the enormous two-story aquarium in front of him. On the floor, a multitude of assorted vines and mushrooms were growing, and between them, at least five different alien eggs were glowing and pulsating. A few creatures were already hatched. Four different sharks - two stalkers, one boneshark and one sandshark. A crashfish. And even two  _ unbelievably tiny _ crabsnakes. Compared to the size - and behavior - of the adults, it was obvious they were all juveniles. Most of those species would never tolerate or even fit within the same space as each other.

Ryley smiled at their friend. “Research Facility. I have… unknown eggs here.” They signed, a little unsure, despite having prepared for this.  “You can go in. Friendly.” They opened the hatch and held out a hand, leading their friend in.

“Wait, stop for just a second, magic can resume in 2 minutes.” Bart held up his hands, a burning question came to mind now that he’s seen Ryley’s aquarium.  “Is this how you scanned a boneshark?”

Ryley laughed and shook their head. They paused for a minute with a small smirk before they popped in the hatch and went up to the boneshark, miming punches at the young creature before patting it’s head and swimming back to the hatch.

Bart was speechless for a moment, but not long. “You. You’re trying to tell me you boxed a boneshark.” 

Ryley nodded and grinned.  “Yes. I punched…” Ryley frowned, making a few frustrated noises before starting to sign “bone”, then shook their head. They took their two hands, wrists together, so that the two hooked fingers on each hand made teeth for a mouth. Ryley grinned, they seemed very pleased with themselves.

“Look at you! Communicating! Making a sign for a species that doesn’t exist on    Earth! Boneshark, right?” Bart returned Ryley’s grin with a beam of his own as they excitedly nodded. “Still doesn’t excuse b _ oxing a boneshark _ . By the stars, how are you even _ alive? _ ”

“Coming?” Ryley put out their hand again, totally ignoring their friend, and pulled Bart into the tank. Immediately, the fish swarmed the two of them.  Bart was fascinated, he’d never been able to see these creatures so close before, at least not without the imminent threat of bodily harm.

“They’re beautiful. So friendly too, did you train them at all?” Bart smiled as he pet the crabsnake that was swimming its way around his arms. It’s crust was soft, wigglier than the adult ones. Would probably harden into their crab armour in an older age.

“No. They… Don’t mind?” Ryley signed, shrugging to try and show they’re confused. Bart smiled, shrugging back and turning his attention to the predators swimming in circles around him. Ryley smiled at their friend, playing with the docile would-be predators.  The stalkers seemed to enjoy bopping their noses into him, sending him off balance with a comical  _ oof _ .  Bart laughed, and it wasn’t quite as full as it had been years ago, but it still sounded like music to Ryley. How did they miss seeing that boy’s happy face again.

But it seemed the moment wasn’t to last.

Ryley folded over behind Bart, stifling a groan. Their vision filled with blue, and an echoing voice filled their ears.  _ Remember that you were never alone.  _ The blue image of a majestic creature filled their head to the point of bursting. They could vaguely hear a voice calling to them, reminding them of the friend they had to watch for. The blue shimmered again as they opened their eyes, looking for Bart past the lights in their vision. Just as the world was dimming, they felt themselves fall downwards. Then the blue faded, leaving an afterglow that burned their eyes, and a nasty headache throbbing across the top of their head. Rubbing their forehead, they looked up to where their legs were still half in the hatch, along with a frustrated and concerned Bart.

“I hope you know just how hard it was to get your giant ass out of that tiny hole.” Bart grumbled as he tried to remove their feet from the hatch, which Ryley politely decided to help with.  Then he ungracefully tumbled out of the hatch himself and sat down on the floor next to his friend. “What the  **_fuck_ ** just happened?”

Oh, swears. Bart must have been really shaken up. Ryley themself could barely understand their situation as well, but still pulled out their PDA with shaking hands and tried to type. After a few trial and errors, they finally let it start speaking.

“I had some kind of vision. It was glowing in my eyes and left a headache all over my head. It was like the shadow of a creature, and all I could see were four bright eyes. It was trying to talk to me.” They tapped at the screen, backing up more than not. They rubbed at their face before the voice sounded again, “Could make out it saying I wasn’t alone. And it sounded comforting, rather than threatening.” They kept their eyes in their hands. Mostly from the residual headache, though partly trying to find a focal point to get their brain back together. What was that?

“So you’ve seen her too.” Bart whispered. “The visions… Dad thought I’d gone mad. Island sickness, he told Maida that one day. Didn’t talk about it much with me. He tried to keep scarce when the fits happened.” Bart looked down at his hands. “After they died, the visions weren’t as frequent. But they said a lot of comforting things too. I never knew whether to hate ‘em or love ‘em. After all, until now I thought I was just crazy.”

Ryley looked up, once again wishing so hard they could speak. There was no way to interpret that event, except that…

“It seems we’re not alone in this planet. There’s a sentient being out there, trying to reach us. A friendly one, if we’re reading this correctly.” They typed.

“A friendly one. A friend. Gods we might have a friend out there” Bart sighed, in relief, and waved his head. “For  _ once _ a welcome change. Let me have this moment, Ryler, I might just be able to sleep better at night.” They both laughed.

* * *

 

_ “I’m going outside.” Bart could barely hear his father pleading for him to come back inside, but he was already swimming to his seamoth, parked out of sight of the crabsquids. He had just jumped into the driver's seat and began piloting it upwards when he heard it. A deafening roar, some of the rocks from the pillars and the cave ceiling above shook and fell.   _

_ He turned the little ship around as fast as he could, only to see the habitat torn open, Maida, spear in hand, in the grasp of a dragon as it descended beyond where his ship could go. He tried to scream but he couldn’t hear anything. He drove closer, looking for a trace of his father, something, somewhere. No sign of him, he got out of the seamoth and entered the remains of the base. _

_ He saw someone else. Long black hair, warm, welcoming eyes. Then he finally heard himself scream. _

* * *

 

Ryley woke up in the middle of the night with a blood curdling scream coming from Bart’s room. Rushing down the hallways and a ladder, they found him, tangled in sheets on the floor. Hesitantly, they knelt down next to him and pulled him into their arms. As they held him tightly, the shouts died down, slowly. Ryley rocked slowly, not really knowing what else to do until Bart woke up.

After the moment’s confusion, Bart finally opened his eyes, and then his mouth. “Do you happen to know how I landed on the floor?” Ryley snickered and gave back a shrug. They pulled out their PDA, and smiled at the pointed look Bart gave them.

“What? It’s really hard to sign at this angle!” Ryley ignored their friend’s disapproving frown and continued. “You didn’t happen to have another of those friendly visions, did you?” They asked. The man was still quiet, with a scared look in his eyes. “Was it a bad dream?”

When they didn’t get much of a response, they continued, “it might help to talk about it.”

“Ryley… how is my mother these days?” Bart broke out, in a tone so low it could pass as a whisper. “How was she when you left? How was she after  _ I _ left?”

The question took Ryley so off guard that they almost dropped Bart. Fortunately, the guy got up on his own when he noticed their wrists tightening in a grasp for something that wasn’t quite there. It had been years since… they didn’t even consider Bart was unaware of everything that had happened in his homeworld since he left. How would they tell him that? They didn’t even have time to think about it, to prepare for that kind of conversation.

“Ryley… my gods, what happened?” Bart’s voice rose an octave, indicating panic. Ryley shook their head and grit their teeth. They decided they had to be strong for their friend. There was no easy way to tell that.

“I’m afraid I don’t have a happily ever after story for you, my friend.” They typed. “Will you make an exception for the PDA this time? I’ll have to go from the beginning, and I don’t wanna mess this up.”

“Mess  _ what  _ up? I, I… I don’t understand, what’s gotten you so... Please, just. So long as you talk.”

“Do you remember that shortly after you left Earth, I fought with my parents? There was a falling out between us. They kicked me out, we weren’t on speaking terms anymore…”

“I remember, that’s when my mom stepped up.” Bart said. “She took you in and threatened to sue them if they tried anything. We talked through the deep-space comms until you fell asleep, and I felt bad I wasn’t there for you.”

Ryley smiled fondly at the memory. “Your mother was. You know how she is. And well, now you know how after that I became part of the family. You and your father were gone, and we were both so lonely. We became each other’s new family.”

“So at least you had each other. Thank you, Ryley, I… it worried me so much how alone my mother was, out there.”

But Ryley held out his hand. They weren’t finished yet.

“Do you remember that Bentley guy? Dusty old fart, friend of your dad’s. He had a weird Rich People name, that guy. Wentworth, or something like that. Well, Wentworth Bentley....” What was next read by the PDA got muffled by Bart’s laughter. Ryley rewinded a bit. “Shortly after you were… declared dead, she agreed to ‘loan’ the company to Bentley, as she didn’t feel, well, stable enough to run a galactic trade company. But it had the legal contract that if you somehow made it back, you would be the owner. He signed without paying much mind to it. Probably believed it to be impossible anyways, and that Philippa Torgal was just an old lady holding onto false hopes.”

“I always did think he was a dick. Using a helpless widowed lady like that.” Bart grumbled, earning a compassionate nod from Ryley.

“I’m sorry, Bart. Everything went downhill from there. I took odd jobs, programming and the like, for a while to help her out. That asshole Bentley didn't give her much of a compensation, considering all of the expenses she had to handle in the wake of everything. So I eventually joined with the TransGov Military. Didn’t like it all that much, but at least they put me with the drones and computers instead. That made Phillipa worry a lot less.” 

Bart choked a bit. “Hold on, you,  _ you,  _ of all people _ , _ joined the bloody military?”

“This is a lot of stuff to type, please hold your comments until the end” Ryley paused the log, glancing at their friend, who did actually have the decency to look a bit ashamed. “Anyways. I came back to visit every now and again. But then when I finally quit, saved up enough money to pay off everything, I came back to an empty house. Found out from the neighbor that she was in the hospital. Ran the whole way there. She had something lethal called Byrn Verril’s Disease, I think you must know it, Mr. ‘I beamed an entire biomedical database into my head’. She was in late stages of it too. She didn’t want to worry me I guess, that’s why she never said anything. But she died that day. My only family left... I had her hand in mine, she wasn’t alone. I don’t know if that helps, but I did what I could.”

By the time the log was finished, Ryley was silent, crying into their hands, not looking up. The memories were too heavy, even when read by the stupid-sounding monotone of the computer AI. They wondered, vaguely, if they should try to recreate a more human voice for it.

“Ryley…” Bart was torn.  “Thank you for taking care of her.”

“I wanted to do more. I never should have taken the military job, I should have stayed with her.”

“You didn’t know. Ry, you did so much more than I could, please don’t beat yourself up. You’re always doing that, do you even know how much you meant to us? To her?”

“I’m sorry.” Ryley typed out. “Bart, I know it can’t be easy to get news like that. If you need me here I’ll stay. If you need to talk about something else to ease your mind, maybe I can help with that bad dream you were having?”

“Thank you pal, but, you should go to sleep. You look exhausted, and I don’t wanna keep you up anymore.”

“Fair point. Well,  _ you _ always look exhausted.”

“That’s true. But nope. To bed with you. I--I’d like to think about this for a while first. Some time alone.”

Ryley got up slowly, waving their head.

* * *

 

It was past morning time when Ryley woke up again, several hours later than when they usually did. Damn, Bart was right, they must’ve been really tired.

Now they were worried about the guy. How had he been after their sorrowful talk during the night? Ryley walked out the room to find Bart in the workstation room. They knocked on the wall to call attention to themself.

“You made this?” They signed, walking up to the window wall. It now had a desk in front of it, complete with a chair and a drawer full of parts and materials. Bart had already decorated it with a few hologram projectors, and was now off to working on some maps.

“Oh, you see, I had the sinking feeling I’d probably cause a disaster if I kept doing science in the kitchen.” He said, smiling but not looking up from what he was doing. “And we have to study, Ryley. We have to  _ explore _ . I didn’t know it before, but I know it now. That creature has some relation to the benign enzyme the peepers carry, the one I’ve been medicating myself with. I’m sure of it, and I think that maybe if we find her, we’ll find the cure as well! Look over here, I know just where to start...” He was then interrupted by a violent coughing fit. “Oh... fuck. Look away”. He managed to spew before reaching for a small trash can under the table and vomiting on it.

“Gods you work too loud.” Ryley said, exasperatedly. “Much. Work too much.” They corrected their sign. “Don’t wanna slow down? After our talk?”

“Ryley, I finally have a reason to keep going, please, you  _ have  _ to let me work.” He begged. “Please, you’re the only one I have left. I’ve got no one else on Earth, all my family and closest friends died in the crash, there’s no one else on here besides you. I’m doing it for you too, do you understand that? You’re infected too, I  _ have _ to find a way to help you. You’re… I’ve got no one else...”

Ryley sensed a panic attack growing. The little color the man had gotten back was vanishing from his face. They stroked his back, slowly, trying to calm him down.

Still, Bart just breathed in and continued talking. “I’m gonna need your help for this, of course. We need to go back to my… old house, if you can call it that. We have to study that vent, and then we have to find the others, that’s where the peepers are coming from. It’s what will lead us to the alien’s location, eventually. So now we…”

Ryley interrupted him by slapping their hand on the table, and shot Bart a serious look. They didn’t have all the words, but that expression said everything. Bart sighed.

“You.  _ You _ , you have to go.” He said. “Yeah, of course, after all that’s why I need your help. You’re the one allowed to go to places. I can stay behind and help you from the radio.”

“You have to give yourself time” Ryley asked. “And you not ready. I want you safe. Out there not safe.” Ryley tilted their head at his friend. “You don’t need to stop? I’ll get some fresh food?”

“I guess.” Bart stood up, leaning on the desk a bit. “I worked the whole morning, it’s starting to take it’s toll.” He admitted. “Sorry for snapping. I just. I don’t like being cooped up.”

“It’s not forever. Just rest now.” Ryley signed. Bart nodded and made his way back to his bed, as Ryley grabbed their helmet and went for the hatch to catch some fresh fish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so we actually have a subnautica save with all the current additions to the world for this story. Link is below if it'll actually post here. All you need to do is download it and unzip it into your subnautica save folder. It's not all too difficult to find.  
> RAR version  
> https://drive.google.com/open?id=1kuQO52oCEZ6nyrj0WAC0eh9IBZP7ow9u  
> ZIP version  
> https://drive.google.com/open?id=1GBf_v_ZC4h5Qg568qON14vx0OYZtpUZ8

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't the structure of the chapters, this is just the prologue. We have big plans for this au, check out our blog, mrnibblesleviathan.tumblr.com for fanart & extra content. We're just getting started, but there will be lots of stuff there in the future.


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